Jimmy’s Cave – Seal Rocks NSW Australia
Jimmy’s Cave is one of the most fantastic underwater tours you can experience.
We anchor the dive boat on a rock ridge 10 metres deep and drop down through
a vertical entrance into the cave system. The depth in the cave is 33 to 34
metres. Spend a little time here exploring the cracks and crevices, huge “spider”
lobsters are often seen. Take care in this section of the cave as big wobbegong
sharks lurk here.
Moving along we drop down onto a sandy bottom and here you need to tun left
into a dark tunnel rather than taking the first of the exits through which the
light streams into the cave. This tunnel leads us into the “ballroom”
where we pause to gaze at the ladder-finned pomfrets, bullseyes, and nannygai
that shelter here. This is a great spot for photography with these fish silhouetted
in the second and third exits from the cave system.
It is here, once we exit the cave that we check everyone’s remaining air. Those that are running a little low commence their ascent up an open chimney to arrive at around 14 metres and just a short swim from the anchor chain, which is draped across the ridge in 10 metres.
Navigation by depth on this site is very easy.
The rest of the divers, with sufficient air in their cylinders, proceed from
here along the wall, ducking under a swim through, here we often see one of
the huge black or estuary cod that live in the cave systems. We emerge in the
“trench”, a sandy bottomed, square cut gutter 29 metres deep, looking
up we often see Grey Nurse Sharks hovering above us.
Carefully so as not to disturb the Grey Nurses we ascend to around 20 metres
for a short mid-water swim to a series of large boulders that lie in the “trench”.
We duck under these boulders into two swim throughs, finally emerging under
and to the right of a magnificent black coral tree, standing around 2 metres
tall it is festooned with brittle stars and wrapping worms. This is a great
photographic subject, take care where you land here, as there are often wobbegong
and Port Jackson sharks carpeting the bottom.
With time and air now running low we commence our ascent up the reef to the
ridge, locating the anchor line and a 5 minute safety stop later we are back
onboard, recounting tales of what we saw.
Jimmy’s Cave is for advanced divers only; everyone must have a torch.
There is very good diving to be had here outside of the cave system, so those
that are not qualified or would rather not experience the cave can still enjoy
a sensational dive.